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Carnival Conquest - Western Caribbean

Sail Date:
February 2006

Destination:
Western Caribbean

Embarkation:
Galveston

Meant to write this sooner as the reviews were very helpful to us first-time cruisers. My wife and I flew into Houston and took a car from Texas Limos to Galveston. This was a little pricey, however I was recovering from surgery and worth every penny. The drivers (there and back) were very polite, on time and helpful. Got to Galveston Saturday night during their Mardi Gras, very cold. Stayed at the Hilton, nice hotel with a view of the ocean. At at Landry's next door, great dinner, excellent service. Took a shuttle from the hotel the next morning to the dock. Embarkation was not bad, about 1 hour. Our room on the Lido deck was ready, waited about two hours for our luggage but we used this time to look around the ship. And what a beautiful ship. My advise is to take the time to look around, get to know where things are, there is so much to see and do.

After a rather tedious lifeboat drill that started 1 hr late, we got settled and had cocktails in our room. (Take some booze More
with you, the prices on the ship are steep) Met our room steward, Joseph, and I immediately tipped him and explained that I was not moving around very well. He assured me that he would take care of our needs. We had the late dinner which was OK as it takes my wife forever to get ready. Dinner was OK the first night, you want great service and great food, tip your waiter. After that, every night was excellent. We ate one night at The Point, one of the best meals I've had in years and well worth the extra money.

Days at sea were interesting, the pool area is very crowded and noisy but there are lots of other things to see. Lunch at the buffet was less than satisfactory every day. Kind of like a cheap casino buffet.

Jamaica, we took a shuttle to Doctor's beach, gave a guy $10 for some chairs and an umbrella, had a couple drinks with lunch, all in all a great afternoon. The people are pushy and the area is impoverished, but the island is beautiful and our shuttle driver and guide were great.

Didn't go ashore in Cayman due to health issues.

In Cozumel, we hired a cab for the day (great bargain, about $50) and he took us to the other side of the island. Absolutely beautiful. This guy was great and had us back at the ship right on time.

We got lucky with our cruise, the weather was great. Some things we learned: our room steward was rather rude despite a good tip, the waiters were fantastic, don't book excursions through the ship, do some research and book them yourself, some great deals can be found in the gift shop, spend the money and eat at the Point (book early), be patient in line and get to know some folks. Take clothespins for the shower and a power strip for your room. Less